Bruce Springsteen

Tracks II: The Lost Albums (2025)

	
Disc One

1. Follow That Dream
2. Don't Back Down on Our Love
3. Little Girl Like You
4. Johnny Bye Bye
5. Sugarland
6. Seven Dears
7. Fugitives Dream
8. Black Mountain Ballad
9. Jim Deer
10.County Fair
11.My Hometown
12.One Love
13.Don't Back Down
14.Richfield Whistle
15.The Klansman
16.Unsatisfied Heart
17.Shut Out the Light
18.Fugitive's Dream (Ballad)

Disc 2
1. Blind Spot
2. Maybe I Don't Know You
3. Something in the Well
4. Waiting on the End of the World
5. The Little Things
6. We Fell Down
7. One Beautiful Morning
8. Between Heaven and Earth
9. Secret Garden
10.Farewell Party

Disc 3
1. The Desert (Instrumental)
2. Where You Going, Where You From
3. Faithless
4. All God's Children
5. A Prayer By the River (Instrumental)
6. God Sent You
7. Goin' to California
8. The Western Sea (Instrumental)
9. My Master's Hand
10.Let Me Ride
11. My master's Hand (Theme)

Disc 4
1. Repo Man
2. Tiger Rose
3. Poor Side of Town
4. Delivery Man
5. Under a Big Sky
6. Detail Main
7. Silver Man
8. Janey Don't You Lose Heart
9. You're Gonna Miss Me When I'm Gone
10.Stand On It
11.Blue Highway
12.Somewhere North of Nashville

Disc 5
1. Inyo
2. Indian Town
3. Adelita
4. The Aztec Dance
5. The Lost Charro
6. Our Lady of Monroe
7. El Jardinero (Upon the Death of Ramona)
8. One False Move
9. Ciudad Juarez
10.When I Build My Beautiful House

Disc 6
1. Sunday Love
2. Late in the Evening
3. Two of Us
4. Lonely Town
5. September Kisses
6. Twilight Hours
7. I'll Stand By You
8. High Sierra
9. Sunliner
10.Another You
11.Dinnre at Eight
12.Follow the Sun

Disc 7
1. I'm Not Sleeping
2. Idiot's Delight
3. Another Thin Line
4. The Great Depression
5. Blind Man
6. Rain in the River
7. If I Could Only Be Your Lover
8. Cutting Knife
9. You Lifted Me Up
10.Perfect World
11.

  

This is one of those releases that is almost impossible to review in the conventional sense. The reason is simple: the sheer quantity of material involved. For decades, fans of Bruce Springsteen have been aware that the man has enough unreleased songs sitting in the vaults to fill several lifetimes. Every few years another bootleg appears, somebody claims to have heard some mythical lost album, and the internet immediately erupts with speculation. The question has always been whether any of this material would ever see an official release.

The original Tracks box set from 1998 certainly helped ease the pain. With more than sixty songs, it gave fans a fascinating glimpse behind the curtain. The problem, however, was that it also created a new problem. Once listeners realized just how much quality material had been left behind over the years, they wanted more. A lot more.

Well, after a wait that seemed to last approximately three geological eras, here it is.

What we essentially have with Tracks II is seven complete albums. Seven. That's an almost absurd amount of material to dump on listeners all at once. Unlike the original Tracks, which functioned largely as a chronological journey through Springsteen's career, this collection is organized by style and recording period. It turns out to be a smart decision. Each disc has its own personality, its own production style, and its own purpose. Fans may not love every minute of it, but at least they're not forced to jump randomly between decades and genres every three songs.

Having said that, not everything here is gold. In fact, I'd argue that three of the seven discs fall squarely into the category of "interesting but hardly essential."

The first disc is probably the weakest of the bunch, which is unfortunate because first impressions matter. Much of the material consists of sparse demos and unfinished sketches. While it's certainly fascinating from a historical perspective, one often finds oneself wishing Springsteen had simply spent a little more time developing these ideas into fully realized songs. There are moments of promise, but too much of it feels like listening to rough drafts.

Then there's the curious pseudo-western collection, reportedly intended as the soundtrack to an unfinished film project. It's atmospheric, moody, and occasionally beautiful, but it's also packed with instrumentals and mood pieces that don't exactly invite repeated listening. Admirable? Certainly. Essential? Not remotely.

The sixth disc may be the strangest of all. It's a highly polished collection of smooth, melodic songs that often drift dangerously close to yacht rock territory. Listening to it, one can almost picture the opening credits rolling on some forgotten 1970s television drama about leisure-suit clad lovers with impressive sideburns. It's well executed, and in some ways quite charming, but it feels more like a fascinating curiosity than a lost masterpiece.

Thankfully, the remaining four discs range from very good to genuinely excellent. What's particularly surprising is that much of this stronger material originates from the late 1980s through the late 1990s. That's an era where Springsteen's official output occasionally left fans scratching their heads. Looking back now, one begins to wonder whether he was simply releasing the wrong material. Some of the songs here are so strong that it's difficult to understand why they remained buried while lesser tracks found their way onto official albums.

Unfortunately, there is one final issue, and it's a significant one: the price.

Finding this set for under $200 proved nearly impossible. That's an eye-watering amount of money, even for seven discs. Yes, there's a tremendous amount of music included, and yes, the packaging is attractive enough, but many fans were understandably reluctant to part with that much cash. Frankly, they have a point.

I must confess that I wasn't willing to hand over two hundred dollars either. I streamed it instead. If that makes me a bad Springsteen fan, so be it. The Boss can send me the bill personally.

Still, despite a few weaker discs and a price tag that borders on the ridiculous, Tracks II ultimately succeeds for one simple reason: it finally answers a question fans have been asking for decades. Was there really that much worthwhile material hidden away in Bruce Springsteen's vaults?

The answer, rather emphatically, is yes.